Pale sand at the bottom edge leading into calm, clear, light-turquoise water, with the long rusted steel-truss old railroad bridge running across the frame on concrete piers and a gap where a span has been removed. Two snorkelers float face-down near shore and one person sits on an orange float at left; a small white motorboat is anchored at right. Blue sky with thin cloud. People are small and not identifiable.

Monroe County, Florida

Florida Keys Beaches Every public beach, Key Largo to Key West

Florida Keys Beaches tracks the 16 public beach entries we confirmed with their operators from Key Largo to Key West, with each one's hours, fees, dog rules and closure notices as posted October 24, 2026. Most state parks charge per vehicle plus a 50-cent per-person Monroe County surcharge, several city and village beaches posted no entry fee, and no operator we checked posts lifeguards.

Find your beach What the fees are

A community guide by LPE Realty LLC (561) 652-6917

Clear shallows at Bahia Honda State Park. A film cut from 8 real photographs of Florida Keys public beaches, from Key Largo to Key West. Credits

Mile marker by mile marker

The Keys have fewer beaches than you think

The islands are coral rock, so sand is the exception. These are the public beaches the operators themselves confirm, top of the Keys to the bottom.

Key Largo
Two beaches inside John Pennekamp
Pennekamp has two human-made beaches. Cannon Beach is the park's primary snorkeling beach, with artifacts from an early Spanish shipwreck placed about 100 feet offshore; Far Beach is a relaxing place to swim or sit under palm trees.
Source: Florida State Parks: John Pennekamp experiences & amenities, checked 2026-10-24
Islamorada
Anne's Beach on Lower Matecumbe
Anne's Beach is at Mile Marker 73.5, Oceanside, in Islamorada (Lower Matecumbe Key).
Source: Islamorada, Village of Islands: Parks & Beaches, checked 2026-10-24
Long Key
A natural shoreline, with king-tide closures
Effective September 26, 2026: Long Key State Park may be closed for portions of the day due to tidal surge flooding from King Tides.
Source: Florida State Parks: Long Key State Park Know Before You Go, checked 2026-10-24
Marathon
Sombrero Beach and the turtle season
Sombrero Beach is a sea turtle nesting beach: from April through October, primarily loggerheads come ashore at night. The City limits human activity near active nests, which typically represent less than 10% of the available beach area; the City surveys the beach for new nests.
Source: City of Marathon: Sombrero Beach, checked 2026-10-24
Bahia Honda
Arrive early: the park can fill
Bahia Honda may close when its day-use areas reach maximum capacity; arriving visitors are asked to return later, and the park recommends arriving early on weekends and holidays. Shade is limited on the sandy beaches.
Source: Florida State Parks: Bahia Honda State Park Know Before You Go, checked 2026-10-24
Key West
Smathers, the city's largest public beach
The City of Key West calls Smathers Beach the largest public beach in Key West, approximately half a mile long on the island's south side along the Atlantic and State Road A1A, hosting approximately 150,000 patrons annually.
Source: City of Key West: Smathers Beach, checked 2026-10-24

Open the beach finder

High aerial view of a long, low island with a white-sand beach along its curved right shore, a marina basin, buildings and green vegetation, and two old steel-truss bridge spans broken off at the island's left end, with the newer highway bridge behind. The water shifts from deep blue to bright turquoise over pale sandbanks; low white clouds on the horizon. No people visible. — Bahia Honda Key and its state park from the air, 2025. Photo: Schwerdf, CC BY 4.0

Living here

Thinking about the Keys for more than a weekend?

LPE Realty LLC, a licensed Florida real estate brokerage, publishes this guide and can talk you through buying or selling a home in the Keys, island by island.

Living in the Florida Keys

Three tall coconut palms silhouetted against a pale, overcast evening sky, standing in dune grass in front of calm silver water and a long dark mangrove shoreline across the cove. A small sail shows on the water between the palms. — Photo: AmberGirl, CC BY 3.0

Quick answers

What people ask about Florida Keys beaches

Are there beaches in the Florida Keys?

Yes, but far fewer than visitors expect: the Keys are coral rock, not sandbar coast. This guide tracks every public access point its operator confirms, from the two human-made beaches at John Pennekamp in Key Largo to city beaches in Key West. Every entry's hours, fees and rules were read from the operator's own page (Florida State Parks, Monroe County, Islamorada Village, Marathon, Key West) on October 24, 2026.

Source: floridakeysbeaches.com verified inventory, checked 2026-10-24

What is the best beach in Key Largo?

The operator-confirmed public options at the top of the Keys are the two human-made beaches inside John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park: Cannon Beach, the park's primary snorkeling beach with 1715 Spanish shipwreck artifacts about 100 feet offshore, and Far Beach, which Florida State Parks calls a relaxing place to swim under palm trees. In Tavernier, Monroe County's Harry Harris Park has a protected beach and swimming area.

Source: Florida State Parks: John Pennekamp experiences & amenities

What is the best beach in Key West?

Florida State Parks calls the beach at the southern end of Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park Key West's favorite beach, with swimming, snorkeling, picnicking, a concession and restaurant, restrooms and showers; entry is $6 per vehicle plus a 50-cent per-person Monroe County surcharge. The City of Key West calls Smathers the largest public beach in town at about half a mile.

Source: Florida State Parks: Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

Do any Keys beaches have lifeguards?

None of the operator pages checked on October 24, 2026 posts lifeguards; John Pennekamp explicitly states there are no lifeguards on duty and swimming is at your own risk, and village and city pages carry the same swim-at-your-own-risk wording. Treat every beach in this guide as unguarded and check the operator page before you go.

Source: Florida State Parks: John Pennekamp experiences & amenities

Journal

One beach question at a time

All journal posts

Wide panorama of a broad, flat expanse of pale sand and very shallow tidal flat stretching to a thin band of turquoise water at the horizon, framed by dark-green shrubs and mangroves at left and right, with dried seagrass in the near corners. Blue sky with scattered small white clouds. No people.

Nov 1, 2026

Picked your island? See what living there looks like.

LPE Realty LLC, a licensed Florida real estate brokerage, is behind this guide. If a morning on a Keys beach has you thinking about a home here, talk to us about buying or selling.

Visit LPE Realty LLC Call LPE Realty LLC (561) 652-6917

What is it like to live in the Keys? · Thinking of selling a home in the Keys?

Florida Keys Beaches Every public beach, Key Largo to Key West

Find your Florida Keys beach

Cannon Beach (John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park)

Far Beach (John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park)

Harry Harris Park beach

Anne's Beach

Library Beach Park

Long Key State Park shoreline

Curry Hammock State Park beach

Sombrero Beach

Coco Plum Beach

Bahia Honda State Park beaches

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park beach

Smathers Beach

Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach

South Beach

Rest Beach / C.B. Harvey Park

Simonton Street Beach

The Keys have fewer beaches than you think

Two beaches inside John Pennekamp

Anne's Beach on Lower Matecumbe

A natural shoreline, with king-tide closures

Sombrero Beach and the turtle season

Arrive early: the park can fill

Smathers, the city's largest public beach